Wounds Take Time to Heal
by Castryn Kavitai
Summary: When Nanao is hurt in battle protecting Shunsui, will the strick, heart-guarded woman finally let old wounds heal and take another risk? Or will an old unfaithful mess from her past keep her loveless forever? Nanao and Shunsui romance. My first fanfic.!
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter one: Attack in the Crater**

Nanao pelted across the moor, sounds of battle echoing all around her. Squad 8, her squad, had been sent to the area to fend off a recent infestation of hollows currently invading the area. It was a desolate location in the world of the living, therefore, it didn't have any extra shinigami patrolling the area which allowed the hollow number to grow and expand across the open stretch of land.

As she ran through the battlefield, fear prickled deep in the young lieutenant's heart: it looked as if squad 8 were losing. The number of hollows was at least triple the amount of the soul reapers and as the battle dragged on, more and more kept coming. What bothered Nanao the most, were all the bodies of her comrades lying on the ground, either dead or severely wounded. _'How long is this going to drag on?' _she thought despairingly. _'Just how many shinigami will die here?' _She skidded to a halt as a hollow jumped in front of her; it was one of the larger, therefore, more powerful ones.

Nanao raised her hand and shouted a quick incantation, instantly she shot a blast of kido at the hollow, grazing its shoulder. The hollow reared back roaring in pain and immediately its tail lashed out, slicing a deep jagged wound across the dazed fukutaicho's arm. Nanao gasped and her hand shot to her shoulder, gripping the wound and instantly feeling a heavily flow of blood seeping through her uniform and soaking her arm and hand.

'_An eye for an eye? Try an arm for an arm!' _ Nanao thought bitterly. _'Funnily enough I didn't really believe that phrase till now anyway! Guess that's one lesson I sure got to learn the hard way!' _Nanao then stared at her opponent; the fast regeneration skills known to most hollow were starting to kick in and in a few seconds she was the only one with a wound. _'Damn it! I don't have to for this! I have to get to him!' _The lieutenant reached out with her mind, searching out for the reiraku she had been following before the hollow interrupted her. _'There it is; he's close by.'_ She thought relief, focusing on the hollow again; she just had to get past it and then she would be at his side.

Nanao closed her eyes, thinking fast; she tried to recall a powerful kido spell she could use now and take care of the hollow in one blow. There were plenty of spells; she just had to decide the right one with the easiest incantation.

"Got it!" She exclaimed opening her eyes, and it perfect time too; the hollow lunged for her, opening its jaws, trying to land a bite on her with its sharp saber-like fangs. She dodged quickly, not wanting to receive another wound like before, and raised up her hand beginning an incantation.

"First Movement: Shiryuu, Second Movement: Hyakurensan, Final Movement: Bankintaihou! Bakudou 99 Version 2: Bankin" as Nanao shouted this, the incantation took place in steps. With the first step, Shiryuu, white cloth wrapped itself around the hollow, binding its arms and tail to its body. In the second movement, Hyakurensan, metal spikes shot from Nanao's hand, piercing the hollows body, further preventing the removal of the cloth binding the hollow; and finally, in the last part, Bankintaihou, a huge slab of stone formed about the hollow, and came down hard upon it. Immediately the hollow's skull burst into smithereens while the rest of the body turning into dust and blew away in the wind. The exhausted lieutenant panted in relief, but then turned almost instantly and started flash-stepping away again.

Nanao ran for barely a few seconds but have covered nearly the whole moor where the battle was taking place, when she reached a large crater in the ground; huge masses of reiatsu were pouring out of that 'war pit'. Nanao, as accomplished at reiatsu sensing as she was at kido spells, could instantly tell it was her captain, Shunsui Kyoraku facing an arrancar level hollow. Nanao flash-stepped to the edge of the crater and stared inside it, watching the fight that was taking place there.

Shunsui and an arrancar Nanao didn't recognize from any previous fights or descriptions were heavily engaged in combat. The arrancar had shoulder length navy-blue hair and a bone headband with small antelope antlers (the actually part of his hollow mask he kept). He wore a long, zipped-up, white trench coat over skin-tight black pants that extended all the way into the brims of his snow white rain boots; over his trench coat, he wore a sleeveless black vest. On his face were distorted bright blue lighting markings right under his eyes which were matched by replica markings on his black fingerless gloves; they were even the same shade of blue. The arrancar's zanpakutou was a long two-handed katana, whose hilt was wrapped in a material the same shade of navy as his hair and two long stings extended from the hilt, and at the tips two sapphires were embedded into the material. Everything about this man seamed to match some part of him somewhere else; in fact, the only oddity about him was his bright green eyes.

Even though he held a proud heir about him, the arrancar's clothes were torn in multiple places and it was easy to see the bright crimson splashes of blood against the pale white of his outfit. Ever part of the arrancar's mask was chipped. Shunsui also looked battle worn; his prized pink kimono lay abandoned upon the ground and his hat lay beside, looking battered and as if it would burst into dust by just looking at it. His chestnut colored hair lay tangled about him and pieces of it clung to his sweat-damp face from when they had fallen lose from his pony-tail. There were deep cuts all along his body, the most prominent being the one just above his left eyebrow, which showed signs of hindering his sight partially. Both of the fighters showed signs that they were near their limit and Nanao knew they wouldn't last much longer.

"I don't believe I caught your name, Arrancar-san." Shunsui said after parrying a blow and flash-stepping away.

"It's Denkou Ryoushi. Not that it matters much to you, Shinigami. By the time you've gotten to memorize it, you'll be long dead and I gone!" the arrancar smirked.

"Well, that's not very polite. Not to mention, you didn't even ask me my name yet either. How can you stand to kill a person and not even know their name?"

"How can I stand it? I'm a hollow; I have no feelings. Killing a person without knowing their name is perfectly fine in my book. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I'm afraid this is where we have to agree to disagree, Denkou-san." Shunsui replied heavily. "I feel it shameful to not give you opponent the honor of at least knowing their name when you kill them. It lets them know their memory clung to something when they leave."

"Like I care; but I can tell you'll drag this out anyway. What is your name then, hard-head?"

"No, I don't think anyone is named Hard-head where I come from." Shunsui replied with a grin. "The name's Shunsui Kyoraku, captain of squad eight."

"Well then, Kyoraku-san, you can die here now knowing that I laughed at your silly ways and your ridiculous memory!" Denkou sneered before appearing behind Shunsui. He released a frenzy of attacks and knocked Shunsui off his feet and leapt back before charging up a cero. Shunsui brought his twin-swords up to parry the cero, but left himself open as Denkou lunged forward with a sword thrust.

Nanao knew there was only enough time for actions; thinking was too slow in a moment like this. Know she had just a few seconds to do anything to save him; Nanao flung herself off the cliff and in between Shunsui and Denkou's sword. She couldn't stifle the cry of pain that tore from her lips as the arrancar's sword plunged through her abdomen, sending waves of scorching pain through her whole body; instantly she felt the sword wrenched forcibly out and she collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain and clutching the fresh wound. Everything started fading and she couldn't see or hear anything clearly; it's like she was in the haze you get right after waking up.

There was a strangled cry, lots of shouts, the zipping sounds that were made by a gargantua, and then Nanao was slipping away. However, right before she lost all recognition of anything, she could have sworn the Kyoraku-taichou's face kept swimming in and out of focus above her own.

_**Author's Note:**__** Well, here it is at last! The first chapter to my first ever fan fiction! Love it? Hate it? Let me know! I'm currently typing up chapter two, but I've already writing up through chapter four. Any tips are welcome and comments are loved! Hope you all like Denkou Ryoushi..well, like him as much as you can like the big, evil, bad guy. (He'll be back! Where we'll get to see what he can really do) Also, for those who say it's odd for them to get taken down by a low-level arrancar, this was when the arrancar first started showing up and the captains were having trouble gauging their strength. Just for the record, yes, I do rotate some words between English and Japanese for a more culturally diverse mood. (such as fukutaichou and lieutenant; taichou and captain; ect.) I also love prefixes like the '-chan' and '-san' parts as well!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter Two: Nightmare**

Shunsui watched in horror as Denkou stabbed Nanao right through the chest; saw her blood pooling on the ground. He yelled out to her and tried to run to her, but the more he ran, the further he was pulled away from her until, at last, he saw Denkou toss her broken lifeless body aside, and she lay upon the ground, dead.

"Nanao!" Shunsui shouted out in a strangled cry, tears instantly blurring his vision as the petrified captain shot awake. He scrambled quickly to his feet, letting his straw hat and kimono fall his empty seat, and he just stood there panting for a few moments, staring down at woman sleeping in the hospital bed, safe from the danger that had nearly taken her from him. God did she look peaceful! While he was standing there, frantic that he had nearly lost her, she was just lying there, calm as can be.

"The nightmare again, huh?" the hassled captain of squad 8 muttered to the empty room, sitting on the edge of the bed where his wounded fukutaichou slept; he took her hand in his own, if only to reassure himself that she was really there and this wasn't some dream he'd wake up from to find her dead. He shuddered at how cold it felt and stating taking in the pallor tone to her skin color.

"Yare, Nanao-chan. Why'd yeh have to do that?" he mumbled, staring at the ceiling "Why couldn't yeh have just stayed back a let me handle it. I would have figured something out." The tears stated coming back again, blurring his vision. "Look what you've done to me? I've never felt this scared over losing anyone before! Not even Jushiro!"

"Th...Then I had b...best not die y...Yet" came a weak response, causing Shunsui to jump in surprise and look down at Nanao. Relief flooded his features; she was finally awake. Her deep violet orbs that captivated his thoughts so easily were slowly blinking open and she stared dazedly at him.

"Nanao-Chan!" Shunsui breathed happily; he straightened up so he could be ready to help her if she needed anything. "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm alright" she mumbled. Nanao's voice was still weak, but she could hold a sentence without stuttering; that was a good sign. Nanao tried to push herself up, but Shunsui just gently pressed her back down into the pillows again.

"Sorry Nanao-Chan, but Retsu-san said it would be best if you didn't move that much. Is there anything I can get you?"

"My glasses would be nice." Nanao muttered "I hate not being able to see properly"

Shunsui looked around and spotted them on the table right beside the bed; he reached out and picked them up and then gently placed them upon the bridge of his fukutaichou's nose.

"How's that?"

"Much better!" Nanao said blinking and staring around her. "Am I at squad 4?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Of course you are Nanao-Chan! You were hurt! Don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember! I just didn't think it was that bad!"

"I'm afraid it was that bad, Ise-san." came a gentle voice from the door, shocking both the occupants in the room. "You gave us quite a scare."

"Unohana-taichou!" Nanao gasped, staring at the captain of the forth division.

"How are you feeling, Ise-san?" she inquired gently.

Shunsui wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard Nanao mutter "Like I was hit by a truck" and had to suppress a grin. Who knew deep down Nanao actually had a sense of humor? She sure didn't like to go showing it off!

"I think I'm alright. My muscles are sore, but it's not that bad. I'm actually surprised I'm not really in any pain" she added.

"That because we have you on some rather strong Analgesics" Unohana replied, and seeing their baffled looks, added: "Painkillers in common term." She then proceeded to check Nanao's vitals and make sure everything was going alright. It only took a few moments and she made quick notes on a clip-board.

"Have you felt lightheaded or dizzy at all?"

"Not that I've noticed."

"Anything odd; weird spots in your vision or excess blurriness?"

"Everything was blurry when I first woke up, but that was because I needed my glasses."

"Alright." Unohana said, making a few more marks before looking up, smiling at Nanao. "So far so good, Ise-san. You have a slight fever, but it's nothing alarming and I think it might be your analgesics influencing it. However, I shall inform Isane to make sure to keep checking it and if your fever goes up any higher, I'll put you on a type of Motrin to bring it down. Other than that you're doing fine; though, like I'm sure Shunsui has already told you, I don't want you moving around too much."

"Understood, Unohana-taichou; and thank you."

"It's no problem dear." She said with a smile. "Now you" she then instantly turned on Shunsui. "I have hardly seen you leave, so now that you know your fukutaichou is in no immediate danger, I want you to get down to the mess hall and get yourself some food. You won't be of any help to Ise-san or the Gotei Thirteen if you let yourself waste away from starvation."

"But Retsu-san!"

"No, taichou; she's right. You need to keep your energy up. The squad needs you!"

"They need you too, Nanao-Chan!"

"I'm well aware of that. I have no intentions of going anywhere except back to sleep."

"But…I can't leave you alone?"

"Why not?"

"Look at what Denkou did to you! How can I leave you unguarded after that!"

"First of all, I threw myself in front of his sword; he didn't have much say in the mater. Secondly, Squad Four might not be the best, but they can still fight and I'm not totally useless right now either. Finally, I don't know how you would even think that arrancar would be dumb enough to try to break into the serientei; it's a suicide mission."

Shunsui would have pushed his case further, but he knew he shouldn't get Nanao worked up. He was going to have to let her win this round.

"Fine" he sighed looking at Nanao and then at Retsu. "I know a lost case when I see one." He then pulled his kimono over his shoulders, placed hit hat upon his head, and walked to the door. "I'll be back soon." he said before giving a fake glare at the two women and the sweeping out of the room. _"Women can be so difficult!" _he thought, rolling his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter Three: Best Friends**

Nanao felt as if she had barely closed her eyes when there was a loud rapping at her door and she opened her eyes to see Rangiku Matsumoto, the outgoing lieutenant of squad 10, come skipping into the room.

"Nana-chan!" she squealed, using the ridiculous nick-name she had give Nanao in their academy days. She looked as if she were about to pull Nanao into was of her infamous 'death hugs' but must have thought better of it; Nanao's pride told her it was because of her own infamous 'death glare' but her mind said it was most likely the fact that Rangiku probably remembered Nanao would still be sore from her injuries. "How are you?" the excited red-head asked.

"Sore and hopeful that you won't stay long so I can sleep."

"That hurts, Nana-can!" Rangiku complained, pulling on one of Shunsui's puppy-dog pouts. "I came all this way to see you, avoiding my captain with that evil paperwork and everything, and you aren't the least bit happy to see me? I'm starting to wonder if you really do think I'm your best friend."

"Then next time you should stay at your squad and do your paperwork first, or at least bother to check if I'm awake before you knock so loudly. You must have nearly broken the door of its hinges!"

"But I was excited to see you! Rumors have been flying around you know!"

"About what exactly?" Nanao asked reluctantly. Knowing Rangiku like she did, Nanao knew that nothing good was going to come out of this.

"Oh, only about how you _romantically _threw yourself in front of that arrancar to save your beloved Shunsui-kun's life!" Rangiku said with a giggle that only worsened as Nanao thumped her recently raised head back into the pillow in frustration.

"So, getting your guts cut out with a blade is suddenly _romantic_? Who would have guessed." She said with a snort. "However, I was not saving my _beloved Shunsui-kun's _life or anything of the sort. I was protecting my captain from the present danger as is the duty of a lieutenant of the thirteen court guard squads."

"Oh really?" Rangiku said, either not believing her or deciding not to let her get off easy. "That's not how everyone else described it. They said you practically threw yourself in his way with love glowing in your eyes."

"This is getting silly." Nanao said, rolling her eyes. "There was only myself, the arracar, and captain Kyoraku present; no one else could have seen what happened there."

"Ah! So you two are _secret lovers _then? Who knew you were so _bad_ Nana-chan?"

"What? No! That's not what I meant! Kyoraku-taichou and I aren't seeing each other in any way; secret or blatant. I'm not involved with anyone!"

"Because you're a non-social workaholic?" Rangiku said with a tease.

"No; I just have no interest in women and…and I don't trust men all that well." Nanao mumbled, blushing.

Rangiku sat, stunned silent, for a few moments.

"You don't trust men?" she asked after awhile. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You haven't exactly asked have you?" Nanao asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I thought you were always the book-type and just never really were interested in relationships."

"Oh, everyone's interested at some point, Rangiku." Nanao sighed. "Look at those ridiculous things Nemu-san draws at our S.W.A. meetings." Nanao replied with a grimace. "She's a robot for heaven sake and she's got interest in that kind of stuff."

"Well, she was made by Kurosutchi-taichou." Rangiku said, thoughtful about the idea. "He's really interested in everything."

"That's not the point."

"Yah!" Rangiku interrupted. "The point is: why don't you trust men? What could have caused that?"

"Because I was in a bad relationship when I was young, really young."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"It was before I entered the academy, back in my days in the rukongai." Nanao began. "This guy was perfect; tall, handsome, incredibly funny, outstandingly smart, and a lady charmer at is best! Not to mention, the guy was only a few years older than me, so it wasn't a large enough age gap to be considered 'wrong' in any kind of terms." A sad smile started to cross over Nanao's face; memories weren't the nicest of things for a person.

"However, like most 'perfect' men do, he had a dark side under that nice face." Tears started polling into her eyes and she stared blurrily at the ceiling.

"Nanao?" Rangiku queried, unsurely.

"I'm fine." Nanao muttered. "Well, this perfect, good-looking boyfriend of mine, had been abused by his parents his whole life, so he himself had become and abuser. When-eve he got really mad or upset, he would start going off, beating things up, and most of the time, I would be his personal punching bag. Eventually, he got bored with me and just threw me aside without a second glance, and even after everything he put me through, I still cried when he left. I had loved him so much!" She looked at her friend, trying to smile at her. "I'm fine now, but I don't know how long it might be before I can ever trust another guy again."

Rangiku just stared at her, her eyes wide and staring with shock.

"I…I had no idea" she said eventually fight down her stun from the news. She looked down at her hands, feeling ashamed for ever teasing Nanao about men.

"How could you have? You're the first one I've ever told."

_**Author's Note:**__** Sorry it took so long! My online course ends next week and I've got to finish a research paper for my final! I hope you all loved this chapter! As always, comments are loved, and I'm going to try to get the next chapter out soon.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter Four: Snuggles and Windowsills**

Nanao started at the blank white ceiling, pondering about what she had revealed to Rangiku hours ago. Soon afterwards Nanao had drifted off to sleep and woke up now to find Rangiku no longer there. However, there was another occupant to the room: her captain sat across the room on the wide windowsill, curled up in his pink haiori and staring out into the brightly light sky. Judging by the reddish-orange and purple colors reflected upon the clouds and on the floor tiles, Nanao discovered it was around sunset, and growing darker by the minute.

"Taichou?" she called out, and saw relief wash over her captain's face as he looked at her.

"Nanao-chan! You're awake again I see! I was worried you were going to sleep till all the day-light had gone." Shunsui said, smiling at her. He then slid off the ledge and walked over to her, "Jyu-kun'll be a little sad. You just missed him I'm afraid" he added with a larger grin; how the two were best friends when they (mostly Shunsui) teased each other so much, was unbelievable.

"He was? Why didn't you wake me? I would have enjoyed talking with Ukitake-taichou." Nanao said with a sad sigh. "He's always helping me get a hold of some of the harder to obtain novels I love reading on weekends in my free time."

"I know, Nanao-chan." Shunsui said, dropping in the chair beside her bed. "But I couldn't bear to deprive you of your very much needed rest and Jushiro promised that he would come by again later when you were awake. He said he didn't want to be a bother." Then he grinned at her again. "He also left you this!" and he reached into a drawer in the nightstand and pulled out a good sized novel labeled _"Clouded Minds" _and handed it to Nanao. However, as her hands brushed against his hand, he mentally winced. "Yare, Nanao-chan, you're freezing!"

"Don't be silly Captain, I'm fine." Nanao lied easily, but wasn't able to suppress a shiver.

Shunsui, on the watch for a sign like this, pulled his pink haiori off and then wrapped Nanao up in it, smiling to himself as she gasped and blushed in surprise.

"Yare, Nanao-chan, lying about your health is pointless; the body has a way of proving anyone wrong the first chance it gets."

Nanao stared at the man in front of her; even though she distrusted men in general, somehow her heart still found a way to fall for the man every chance it got. He was smart, respectable, and amazingly determined at what-ever he put his mind to. Sure he didn't get much don't paper-work wise, but not a lot of captains actually did, and, though she would never admit it, Nanao was attracted to everything about his appearance, even that damn pink haiori she had wrapped around herself this very moment. However, she couldn't jump over that mental hurtle that lead to her distrust for men.

"Daydreaming about your handsome captain Nanao-chan?" Shunsui teased, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"In your dreams." Nanao muttered at him with a snort.

"Every night, my darling!" Shunsui replied with the same goofy grin that floated around Nanao's lonely mind at night. Rolling her eyes at him, Nanao went to push herself up, tired of laying back all day, and instantly fell back into the pillows, whimpering in pain.

The effect was instantaneous; Shunsui leapt to his feet, starting at Nanao as though she would split into pieces at any moment, his face consumed with a look a fear Nanao had never seen on his face before.

"I'm alright captain" Nanao gasped, clutching her side. "I just tried to sit up and my side hurt."

"It's like I said earlier Nanao-chan, you really shouldn't move." Shunsui reprimanded gently, sighing in relief that she was alright. "Your wound isn't fully healed yet. Are you hurt?" he added, a fearful tinge to his voice.

"More so than before, you mean? I don't believe so." Nanao replied soothingly. "I think I just bothered it was all; my whole side is just really sore."

Shunsui sighed in relief and slumped back down into the chair, but kept himself ready to leap but up again if anything else happened.

"Honestly Nanao-chan; I've never known a person to scare me so much in less than a week like this before." He said after awhile, staring at the windows which were now glowing a faint orange. "Well, maybe Jyu-kun, be he's got an illness so that doesn't count!"

"I'm sorry sir." Nanao mumbled, ashamed to have caused so much trouble and worry for the poor man.

"Don't be." Shunsui said, smiling at her. "It was actually a compliment. I was just saying that it goes to show how I much I really care about you."

'_I care about you too, taichou!'_ She thought desperately, whishing she could form those words into a spoken statement.

"Have I rendered my quick-witted Nanao-chan speechless?"

"As you have done so before now as well, captain"

"Really?" Shunsui said, really surprised. "When? Come on, Nanao-chan, you gotta tell me!"

"I honestly cannot remember the last time it happened. I've always got other problems on my mind to worry about."

"Such as?" Shunsui pestered, determined not to give in so easily.

"Saving you from hollows and the wrath of the head-captain if the paperwork isn't turned in on time."

Shunsui's eyebrows rose an inch or two, so Nanao was going to play and fight back today? This would be fun!

"Yare, you've got a point there Nanao-chan." Shunsui said with a wise nod. "I must admit it's quite flattering to know that protecting me if one your _import_ tasks."

"Of course it is! You're my captain and I'm your lieutenant, if nothing else then it is at least my responsibility to look after you in battle." Nanao snapped back instantly, rolling her eyes at him. "Why would you think it wouldn't be?"

"Well, you constantly hit and abuse me!" Shunsui said with a puppy-dog pout.

"Well, if you wouldn't go invading my personal space all the time I wouldn't have to! I have the right to defend myself so if you really don't want me to hit you so often, then leave my 'personal bubble' alone!" and she just glared as Shunsui fell against the back of the chair, roaring with laughter. Nanao just rolled her eyes at him and then, failing at suppressing it, yawned tiredly. Was she really that tired? She had only been up for an hour or two.

Shunsui caught the yawn and smile at her. "You should get some more sleep Nanao-chan." He said gently, removing her glasses and placing them on the nightstand and then bent over and tucked his haiori more securely around her, carefully avoid the tubes for her I.V. and what-not. Shunsui couldn't wait till Nanao was released and he could look at his Nanao without seeing a bunch of monitors all pressed up around her, it scared him.

Nanao smiled sheepishly at him as her eyes slowly closed and she nuzzled deeper into the pillow. Almost instantly, she was asleep again, snuggled up happily in the soft pink fabric. Shunsui stared down at her, wondering how he was lucky enough to know such a wonderful woman, and wishing beyond all hope that he could find a way to prove it to her someday.

"I love you Nanao-chan." He whispered before walking over to the tie window and resuming his former spot there, the only difference was that he was now curled up in a powder-blue cotton blanket Jushiro had brought for him the first night Nanao was brought here; the man truly was the world's greatest friend!

_**Author's Note:**__** Well, with the last chapter being as depressing and gloomy as it was, I figured we needed another good fluffy scene so here yah go! I always love moments like these in other people's fanfictions and I hope you like it too! Read and Review please!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter Five: Visiting Hours**

Jushiro walked along the halls of the hospital that made up most of the squad four's barracks. The only other buildings were supply huts and the actual buildings that made-up the living quarters for the members of squad four and all of those were on the same property as the hospital.

The white haired captain of squad thirteen nodded and smiled politely at the people he recognized when he passed them; the poor man had only gotten past two halls before he was beginning to feel like a bobble-head doll. How was it that he, Jushiro Ukitake, knew just about everyone here when he wasn't ever a member of this squad? Jushiro cursed the damned disease that answered his question; the same disease that resulted in the poor man to have white hair and to spend so many hours as a patient her at squad four. He might never admit it aloud, but there were many times Jushiro envied the healthy people around him and wished that he too could have the freedom of an unburdened fitness.

Allowing himself to get buried in these unpleasant thoughts, Jushiro almost missed the room he had come here for in the first place, and only noticed it because someone had called his name. Unohana, squad four's captain, was walking out of the room and turned to smile at him, Jushiro smiled back and walked up to her.

"Good morning Jushiro-san." She greeted cheerfully, nodding her head politely to him. "I hope you are well?"

"A fine morning it is indeed, Retsu-san." Jushiro greeted sweetly in return, copying Unohana's nod. "I'm feeling very lovely today; a very nice change of things for awhile." He added and gave a grin before continuing. "Might I ask how Ise-san's recovery is going?" he questioned, nodding at the closed door with the sign _"Ise Nanao" _stuck to it.

"Nanao-san is doing very well today; both she and Shunsui are already awake and I'm sure that they will both be delighted to see you!"

"That's a relief; Shunsui's been so fretful about her since she got hurt I've not been sure what to think; the way he acts you would assume she was on her deathbed. I have to admit though, I'm rather amused he's awake by now; I can't really remember too many times the man got up before noon unless there were urgent events taking place." And he and Retsu giggled at their friend's sloth-like attitude.

"Well, you've seen him around Nanao-san; I really do believe he would wake up at any hour just for her sake."

"I know what you mean, Retsu. I keep telling the man to actually to matters into hand and try to get into a real relationship with her. I keep telling him to just tell the girl all this time he really has meant it when he says he loves her."

"Do you know why he hasn't?" Retsu asked curiously; there were many people debating why the two commanding officers of squad eight weren't together yet.

"Well, he keeps saying things like she wouldn't believe him or that she would get freaked out and scared away." He shrugged "I think he's just scared of losing her. It's been excuse after excuse; I hope he runs out of them one day."

"You and me both." Unohana said with a sigh. "Well, I really must be off. There are still a few more patients I need to attend to before I can even consider taking a break."

"Oh, it's no problem at all Retsu-san. I'm sorry to have taken so much of your time." He said sheepishly, giving her a respectful bow. "I am, as always, in your debt as both a friend and as a patient."

"You play both parts wonderfully Jushiro-san and it is an honor." Unohana replied before walking off.

Jushiro pushed opened the door and there was an instant shout.

"Jyu-kun!" Shunsui shouted, running at his friend with open arms.

Jushiro, judging he friend's intentions, side-stepped the man and laughed as Shunsui went sprawling onto the ground. He looked up and gave Nanao a wink.

"And that, Ise-san, is the best way to avoid Shunsui when he gets these wild ideas that like to come into his head."

"Very instructive, Ukitake-taichou." Nanao said with a nod, going along with the act. "However, I find that my methods of hitting him with the nearest heavy object tend to work well enough for myself."

"How rude!" Shunsui whined at them from his spot on the floor. "What if I had cracked my skull and died?"

"You could have" Jushiro mused thoughtfully. "But since you didn't I guess there really isn't any harm done."

"How cruel of you Jyu-kun! First you hurt me…" Shunsui began plaintively, but was interrupted.

"Actually captain, you kind of hurt yourself." Nanao injected. "You were the one who launched yourself at Ukitake-taichou, he just simply avoided you."

"Well fine." Shunsui huffed, pushing himself to his feet. "If you two are just going to tease me then I'll leave." And walked up to the door, opened it, but then turned around. "Besides, now that I know my lovely Nanao-chan isn't by herself and won't get lonely, I can go get some things taken care of." And then he did actually leave, making Nanao and Jushiro stare shocked at the door. Jushiro was the first to break the silence.

"Well, what do yah know? He actually left! Kami, if I had known that would work I would have tried it years ago!" he exclaimed give Nanao an exasperated look. "It would have saved me many hours of stress with him there whining on and on about silly problems when I had work to get done."

"You and me both, Ukitake-taichou." Nanao agreed with a nod.

Shunsui walked outside of the hospital then headed towards squad at a brisk flash-step paced speed; he got there in under ten minutes and touched-down right beside the door that lead into the office. Shunsui pulled open the door and walked into the office reluctantly.

"Alright, Shunsui, time to get that pesky paperwork done." He muttered to himself. He made a vow last night that he wasn't going to let Nanao anywhere near the office until he was sure she was fully healed so that meant getting the paperwork done so she couldn't find a reason to try to work. "Unohana said she'll be out by tomorrow evening so I need to get this done today." He said disdainfully, staring at the large stack of paper. "This is going to be hell!"

_**Author's Note:**___

_**Sorry this took so long; been swamped with getting everything ready for school. Now that that's all done I hope things will start to even out around here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and like Shunsui stated, Nanao's leaving the hospital tomorrow so only one more hospital scene left; I felt it was getting kinda old.**_

_**I also just want to thank everyone for staying with it so far. It really means a lot to me!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter Six: A Day of Surprises**

Nanao smiled as she stepped outside, the soft autumn breeze gently buffeting the loose part of her hair she kept down. The young woman took in a deep breath of air and let it out in the form of a relaxed sigh; the air was crisp and cool and it felt so good to be outside again, the hospital always had an odd 'deathly' touch to the air inside.

"You really should relax like this more often, Nanao-chan." Shunsui said happily, reminding Nanao he was still there with her. "You look so lovely when you smile."

"I can't help it; I've always got so much work to do that there isn't much time left over to just take a break and enjoy the weather." She said with a shrug. "I've always preferred reading and writing anyway; they're much more organized and predictable."

"Where as nature is full of irreplaceable joy and mystery." Shunsui countered with a grin. "Come on, Nanao-chan! You know you can't deny that nature is a beauty all on its own!"

"I never said that it wasn't; I simply implied that is too variable for me. I don't like ambiguity; it leaves too much room to underestimate someone or something and that leaves you open for the lovely little thing we all call pain." She couldn't help but roll her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. Emotions were too complicated and confusing; you can't find answers to them in a book and sometimes the news you did get just makes it worse.

"Nanao, what's wrong?" Shunsui asked, coming to a halt. "I've never heard that kind of ironic tone to your voice before. Has someone done something to you?" and a dark look came to his eyes. Nanao understood that if Shunsui ever knew about _him_, he wouldn't exist too long after.

"No, taicho, I was simply quoting something I read in a novel once. I didn't mean for it to come out so sarcastic and I wasn't implying that I have anything bothering me." Nanao replied simply stopping and looking back at him. When did lying become second nature to her? It'd been so long Nanao couldn't even remember.

"You really shouldn't say things like that Nanao-chan." He replied, the concern still buring deep in his voice. "It makes me worry about you too much!" and he smiled at her, trying to break the oppressive anxiety that had built up.

"I understand Captain Kyoraku, and I apologize for distressing you, though you really had not worry. I am very capable of taking care of myself."

"I know that Nanao-cahn, but that doesn't mean I'm going to just let you stand there and take that pain on your own." And he started walking again, resting his hand on Nano's shoulder and leading her along with him. "You're my kawaii Nanao-chan and I'm never going to let you get hurt again as long as I can find a way to stop it." And even as his tone sounded light a cheerful, the sincerity glowed his eyes.

"Thank you, taicho." Nanao replied, turning her head away from him to hide her blush. Why did he know the right thing to say every time? She kept walking on and soon they reached squad 8 and she began leading him to the office.

"Where are we going Nanao-chan?" Shunsui asked, confused. "Aren't your quarters on the left side of the squad grounds?" and when she nodded her head, the further confused captain inquired: "Then, pray do tell my lovely angel, why are we going to the right?"

"Because the office is this way and I'm sure there is an immensely large stack of paperwork that has accumulated over my absence. I would like to get a start on that before going home for the day." She replied simply before adding: "and it would be very kind of you if you refrained from calling me your 'lovely angel' for I am not, nor will I ever be."

"Of course you are lovely Nanao-chan! You're my savior for saving me from that arrancar!" he said with a goofy grin. "However, the real problem is: why would you go into the office or even be thinking about that silly paperwork? Not only are you still injured and need to rest, but you also haven't eaten any lunch." And before Nanao could accuse him of stalking her, added: "I asked Retsu-san before we left. I knew _she_ wouldn't lie about _your_ health just to get some stupid forms filled out."

"I'm well enough to sit still at a desk and write. As for the food, I can ask one of the lower members to grab me something from the mess hall when they go on lunch break. I have done so many times before now; they really don't mind and I only have to wait half an hour longer and that has never bothered me." Nanao rolled her eyes; her captain honestly couldn't believe she would just throw her health to disorder. Much unlike the popular belief, Nanao was indeed a workaholic, but she did take away time from work to take care of her health.

Shunsui just sighed and let Nanao lead them to the office. As his lieutenant opened the door, he grinned mischievously; oh, the surprise his Nano-chan had coming in for her!

Sure enough, as Nanao opened the door, there was a huge surprise waiting for her: sitting on her desk was a large pile of papers, but as Nanao read through them, they were all completed and filled-in correctly in the same curvy font she recognized as Shunsui's.

"But…but you were with me the whole time! How could you have possibly gotten all of them done?" she looked up at him amazed.

"Simple: when I left you and Jyu-kun together yesterday." He replied with a grin. "I was gone for quite some time; I'm amused you didn't notice." He grinned at her; Nanao-chan looked so cute when she was shocked. "I knew you would need to rest and I didn't want you spending hours upon hours at a desk slaving over paperwork when you would better be at home resting."

"I…I can't believe this. You went through all of this, with your hate for paperwork and everything, just for me?" she didn't even bother to hide her blush this time; Shunsui had earned it. She was contemplating on hugging him, even giving him a quick kiss, when there was a knock on the door.

Nanao looked at the door and instantly froze with terror and shock: standing in the doorway was none other than her ex-boyfriend Kizu Rinchi, the very guy she had told Matsumoto about just days ago.

"Long time no see, Nanao-san." He said with a grin, but his eyes gleamed inexplicably.

_**Author's Note:**_

_**I'm so sorry! I know it's been forever! I've been swamped with school, academic clubs, and extra-curricular activities. I really hope everyone is still reading and that you like the new update. I'm going to try to keep updating immediately to make up for not posting for such a long time. If you're still reading this after waiting so long, then thank you and I'm really greatful you're sticking with me and all my procrastination.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters; they belong to the great artist, Kubo Tite. I am merely a fan of the series with a large imagination and a want to share these imaginations with fellow fan fiction lovers! Comments are always loved!_

**Chapter Seven: Unknown Adversary**

Shunsui stared at the man confused. Who was he and why did he call Nanao, a lieutenant, by her fist name. Surely this man must know this was a death wish in the highest degree. He was about to ask the man what his name was, she he felt something rub against him. As he looked down, he nearly gave himself a heart-attack; his Nanao was leaning…no cowering, against him! Her bright violet orbs were wide with shock as swirled with fear. Her body trembled and she clung to his haiori like child clung to their blanket when they were scared of the dark.

Shunsui wrapped an arm comfortingly around her and was about to ask what was wrong or contemplated yelling at this unknown man for scaring her, but said man opened his mouth and spoke again in that sly leering of voice of his. Shunsui didn't even know that man's name but already hated him; not only did he scare his Nanao-chan, but everything about him was suspicious and held and malevolent air.

"I'm sorry, Nanao-san." The man replied with a bow to her. "Have I done or said anything wrong? I'm terribly sorry; I did not mean to upset you."

Shunsui glared; how could he speak words like that while no meaning was truly behind it. There was no tone in his voice that even suggested he cared weather Nanao had been upset or not. He was about to tell the man to get the hell out of his sight when Nanao started questioning him.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" the young lieutenant asked with a stronger voice than it seemed possible with her body shaking so badly.

"Why am I here?" the man asked with a laugh that sounded more like an eerie cackle. "To say 'hello' to an old friend of mine; why else would I come here?"

Nanao ignored his question, and continued to ask her own. "Why are you dressed as a soul reaper? You never showed any interest in becoming a shinigami before now."

"I thought about it for some time, and after all I heard about it, I felt that I really would fit in. It definitely fits my form of, 'work', shall we say?" he gave a sly grin. "It was very starting but nice to hear you were here as well. I knew you were interested in joining the gotei 13 when we were younger, but /I never thought you would go through with it, much less become one if the top ranking members."

"When I have a dream I stick to it; _I _can keep my promises. A little more than you can I'm sure." Nanao snapped back him. Her fear started to dwindle away as Kizu's taunting angered her.

"Nanao-chan, what's going on?" Shunsui asked, concern in his voice. "Who is this man and how does he know you?"

"My name is Kizu Rinchi, and I am 'Nanao-chan's' ex-boyfriend from long ago in her past." Kizu interrupted, watching Shunsui with amusement. "What is your name, _sir_?" he asked with a sneer.

"Shunsui Kyoraku, captain of squad 8, and I advise you to she myself and Nanao a bit more respect or I'll have you reported for the first division for disrespect, or if you're in our squad, insubordination.

"No need to get so defensive, kyoraku-taicho." Kizu replied bowing his head to the man. "I meant no disrespect; I just wanted to know who I was addressing. For the record, I am not a member of your squad. Isn't it a shame, Nanao-san? We could have had so much fun together, like the good old days!"

"What 'good old days' are you referring to?" Nanao asked sarcastically, refusing to let her taicho fight this one for her. "I don't remember much happiness from my past that had anything to do with _you_ in it!" she said in such a low voice filled with anger, it almost came off as a growl.

"That hurt, Nanao-san!" Kizu said, clutching his heart in mock-pain. "I thought you enjoyed it when we were together? I heard from our old friends that you were deeply hurt when I had to leave. Aren't you in the least bit interested why I had to go away?"

"No; right now I am only interested in you ridding yourself from my sight!" she snapped back, looking away from him, refusing to let him tear her apart like he used to. She was a member of the gotei thirteen now; a lieutenant for heaven's sake! Nanao Ise was not about to allow some low-life jackass make her look like a fool.

"If you say so dear friend." Kizu replied with a short bow. "I hope to see you soon." And he walked out of the office, sliding the door shut silently behind him.

The moment he was gone, Nanao let herself slump onto the couch, burying her face in her hands, sobbing harder than she could ever remember. Shunsui instantly sat beside her and pulled her against him, and other than the going a little rigid, Nanao showed no outward sign of protest. Nanao cried softly for awhile longer before going limp in his arms, Shunsui though she had fallen asleep and was about to carry her home, when she spoke softly to him.

"You much think I'm so pathetic! I was so irrationally scared, then I was so uncontrollably angry, and now I just spent that past half an hour bawling like a child!" she stared at the ground bitterly, writhing with self-contempt.

"Nanao-chan, look at me." And when she didn't, he caught her chin with his finger and turned her said so that she was. "I don't care that you showed your feelings; quite frankly, I enjoy knowing that my sweet Nanao-chan isn't an unfeeling robot. However, I want to know what caused this whole thing. Come on Nanao-chan; talk to me!"

"I…I can't. I'm sorry captain, but I just can't!" she buried her face in his chest and sat there trembling.

Shunsui wrapped his arms securely around her and leaned back into the couch, holding her against while gently rubbing the back of her head. In this moment he swore to himself to make to never let that 'man' near his Nanao-chan ever again!

**Author's Note:**** Hope you enjoyed the update! I've never written a bad-to-the-bone charater before so I hope you enjoy Kizu Rinchi's character. For those of you who don't: bear with me, karma will pay him back soon enough. I'll update as soon as I can!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Waking Up**

"_Nanao-chan? Nanao-chan?"_ Nanao began to stir, an odd buzzing in her ears and an annoying throb in her shoulder; as drowsiness started to drift she found the buzzing to be a voice and the throbbing was someone nudging her arm. However, what alarmed her most, was the cool wooden surface under her face; she had fallen asleep at work!

Instantly her head shot up and there was a blast of pain as she collided with an oddly bumpy object. Clutching the back of her head, Nanao turned her head to see her captain clutching his nose, muttering a few not-so-nice words under his breath.

"Captain! I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me; I never fall asleep at work! Oh, are you alright? I'm so sorry!" she would have continued her endless rant had Shunsui not held up his hand to speak.

"Nanao-chan, I don't blame you for falling asleep at work, I do it all the time, I was just worried if you were alright. It is very unlike you to sleep when there's still paperwork left and I just wanted to make sure you were fine." And he chuckled at her. "An' don't worry about me and my silly nose. I got too close to my sleeping, but deadly Nanao-chan, and I have to pay the consequences; it's normal with us!" and flopped down onto the couch.

Nanao sighed, took a look at the few sheets still lying on the desk, and for once in her life, decided to put them off for latter and got up. Not only was she too drowsy to focus on what she would need to read, but her dream had been oddly unsettling and she needed to think it through before she forgot about it.

"What's wrong Nanao-chan?" Shunsui asked looking up at her, his eyes filling with concern.

Nanao hesitated a moment before deciding to confide a little in him. "While I was sleeping, I had an odd dream."

"Well, why don't you have a seat and tell me about it!" Shunsui gestured to the spot on the couch beside him and gave her a kind smile. "I just want to help Nanao-chan, you can trust me."

Once again she hesitated a little, but eventually she gave in and took up his offer. Curling up on the couch and leaning into the soft material she began pulling her recollections from the dream together and tried piecing them into a coherent plotline.

"Well, the dream started out with an old memory from my childhood. I had been with Kizu at some sort of festival or something, but then it changed, and I saw myself, well, a younger me, sitting there crying. I wanted to go a comfort her…err…me, but I couldn't move and it was like I didn't really exist there; it was really weird." She stared at her hands for a moment, debating whether to go on or not. "The next part was really weird too; it was right after Yadomaru-fukutaicho left, and it was me, a younger me, crying again, but you were there." And she looked up at Shunsui, a slight smile on her face. "You were telling me that everything was alright. You said that I might have lost Lisa-sama, but you were there; you swore that you would never leave me. There was another part where it was you and me and then Kizu showed up, and then I just remember waking up." She stared at the man before her, contemplating all the feelings going through her head.

Shunsui wasn't sure what to say; he remembered comforting Nanao after Lisa-chan left, but he couldn't remember exactly what he had said. "Maybe the dream was trying to show you that, even though you were abandoned before a left alone, it doesn't always have to end like that; there will be times of pain, but you'll have friends there with you. It's like your dream told you: I will never leave you, Nanao-chan. I promise, I will always be here for you."

Nanao gave him a slight smile before standing up; it was starting to get late and she should get home.

"Thank you, Captain Kyoraku. Not just for the advice, or even the concern, but also for the company. You've been there for me many times when I have needed you and it's kind of reassuring to know I can still depend on that." She looked away to hide her blush before she turned back to him a stern look back in place. "However, don't think this gets you out of your share of work tomorrow! Have a good evening taicho."

"You too Nanao-chan." He said with a smile. He waited until after she had slipped out of the office before he let himself slump across the couch. Nanao's dream had also inflicted him with various thoughts and feelings.

**[Author's Note:] I'm so sorry! I know I've been gone for so long and I'm sure many of you have been ready to give up on this story. I'm trying my best to get back to updating, had a lot of drama come up recently, but it should be getting better soon.**

**This chapter is a belated-christmas/early-new year's gift for KyorakuZelda for being totally awesome and keeping me drawn to this fanfic! I really hope you enjoy it!**


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